CANCER CURE HOPE

BREAKTHROUGH

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, examined more than 4,000 participants with an average age of 75.7, who had no obvious signs of cardiovascular disease.

And while past studies have found a link between smoking, heart attacks and heart failure, the new research claims to have uncovered the clear mechanism by which tobacco increases the risk of heart failure.

Dr Wilson Nadruz, lead author of the new study, said: "This data suggests that smoking can independently lead to thickening of the heart and worsening of heart function, which may lead to a higher risk for heart failure, even in people who don't have heart attacks.

"In addiction, the more people smoke, the greater the damage to the heart's structure and function, which reinforces the recommendations stating that smoking is dangerous and should be stopped."

But researchers found that by quitting smoking it is possible to reverse the damage caused, and lower your risk of heart attack

All of the study participants underwent a echocardiogram (ECG).

Even after researchers accounted for other factors including age, race, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes and alcohol consumption, current smokers were found to have thicker heart walls, and reduced ability to pump blood.

That was when compared with nonsmokers and former smokers.

Dr Scott Solomon, senior author and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, said: "The good news is that former smokers had similar heart structure and function compared with never smokers.

"This suggests that the potential effects of tobacco on the myocardium might be reversible after smoking cessation."

The findings are published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.